On Wed, 16 May 2012 10:28:16 -0500, George Leppla
> wrote:

>Yesterday I loaded up the Bradley smoker with a 14 pound brisket ($1.47
>a pound) and two 9 pound pork shoulders ($1.29 a pound). I also smoked
>three small turkey drumsticks that we got from the old meat section.
>
>Observations:
>
>1) The Bradley works great for smoking, but I am too impatient to run it
>long enough for the meat to cook. I ran the smoke for 5 hours and left
>the meat in for a total of 12 hours. Temperature in the smoker never
>got much above 205 degrees. The Bradley people tell me this is normal.
>
>snip
>George L

Are the walls of your smoker insulated? Our old smoker isn't and on
breezy days we are heating the outdoors instead of the inside of the
cabinet.

Was all meat at room temperature before beginning smoking? Could take
a couple of hours on the counter for a large hunk of meat.

Did you fill the water pan with hot water?

Did you open the cabinet door a lot to check on the progress of
things?

All of the above are guaranteed to make the smoking take longer.

Janet US